


Of Christmases Past, Present and Future

by creatureofhobbit



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 04:50:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1415686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creatureofhobbit/pseuds/creatureofhobbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Charmings ban Regina from spending Christmas with Henry, it causes her to reflect on Christmases throughout her past. However, Emma has second thoughts about the ban and helps Regina realise she has friends after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Christmases Past, Present and Future

Marco was hanging up the lights around the town, the Zimmer twins were singing Christmas carols, Granny had started offering festive fare in her cafe, and even Leroy had forgotten he was Grumpy and was walking around with a smile plastered across his face. The whole of Storybrooke was excitedly preparing for Christmas.

Everyone except for Regina.

Jadis had the right idea, she thought to herself as she walked down the main street, when she cast her curse. She had made it so that it was always winter and never Christmas in the land of Narnia. Regina had enjoyed the joke at the time of casting her own curse in making her into the proprietor of the town’s speciality Christmas store. But in all seriousness, Regina was wishing now that she had taken a leaf out of her fellow evil queen’s book, as she watched everyone get ready to celebrate knowing she was going to be spending the day alone.

Regina hadn’t appreciated the previous Christmases at the time. One year, Henry had barely glanced at the expensive presents she had bought him and had then listlessly pushed his Christmas dinner around his plate until Regina had sent him away from the table for asking Graham if he and Regina were “doing it”. Last year, Henry had been equally sullen and had eventually escaped to his room. When she had gone to check on him later, she found that he had climbed out of the window, and she’d eventually tracked him down to Emma and Mary Margaret’s. Henry had spent the rest of the evening in his room and Regina had spent hers with a glass of wine wondering why she had bothered.

This year, she would give anything to do that Christmas all over again. She’d do things differently this time if she could; she’d have laughed off Henry’s remark, she would have tried not to care that he didn’t seem keen on his presents. She wouldn’t be spending Christmas with Henry this year. He would be spending the whole day with Emma, with Mary Margaret and David, and with whoever else they decided to open their home to. Anyone but with Regina, his mom. Regina would be spending the day alone. No one had sent her a card this year, even Kathryn.

 _What are you doing?_ Cora’s voice sounded in her head. _I didn’t raise my daughter to give up this easily. You have to fight for him, Regina._

She was right. Regina would go, she would find Henry, she would find some way to get him to spend Christmas with her.

 

There he was, walking through the street with Emma, Mary Margaret and David. Regina waved, calling out to him.

“Hey, Mom,” Henry mumbled sheepishly as she approached and Emma tried to pull him away.

“You don’t have to leave,” Regina began. “I was hoping that maybe we could talk.”

“What do you want, Regina?” Mary Margaret sighed.

“I wanted to talk about Christmas,” Regina began. “I was hoping that I might get to see Henry on the day.”

“Henry’s spending Christmas with us,” David informed her. “He’s made his choice.”

Henry nodded.

“It doesn’t need to be the whole day,” Regina pleaded. “Just part of it. He could come for lunch, or open his presents with me.”

“He doesn’t want to.” David replied. “And don’t even think about using magic to persuade him. You heard what I said before. If you have to use magic to persuade Henry, you don’t really have him.”

“Come on, Henry,” Mary Margaret said, taking him by the hand and pulling him away from Regina. “If we hurry, we can still get our Christmas tree before the store closes.”

“It’s one day,” Regina tried again. “Henry? Don’t you want to spend some time with me on Christmas Day?”

“Don’t you dare put him in that position,” Mary Margaret snapped. “Come on, we’re going.”

For a minute Emma looked as if she were about to say something, but then she turned away and followed the others, leaving Regina standing in the street alone.

 

**Thirty Years Before the Casting of the Curse**

Rocinante had been Regina’s Christmas gift from her father.

Cora hadn’t been pleased, Regina could tell when Henry had led the horse from the stables. She’d glared at him, asked him why he’d bought that thing as a present. “She needs to be more ladylike,” Cora had argued. “No one’s going to want to marry her for her horse riding skills.”

In a rare show of spirit, Henry had tried to argue with Cora. “She’s eight years old, Cora,” he had said. “Marriage is many years off yet. Regina wanted a horse this Christmas, and that’s what I’ve bought her. He’ll give her hours of pleasure.”

“More than the dresses and jewels that I gave her?” Cora raised her eyebrows.

Henry, seeing the look on her face, had started to back down. “That’s not what I said,” he began, but Cora raised her hand and Henry was thrown backwards with a loud bang.

“You are a fool, Henry,” Cora sneered contemptuously. “I’m trying to do what’s best for her.” 

“Come on, Regina,” Henry struggled to his feet. “Let’s take him to the stables.”

Samuel, the stable keeper, smiled as they approached. “So you liked it then. I’m pleased. Your father spent weeks trying to find the right horse for you.”

“I love him.” Regina grinned up at Samuel.

A young boy, who looked about the same age as Regina, peered out from behind his father’s legs. “He’s a great horse,” he whispered. “I wish I had one like him.”

“Maybe you can ride him some day.” Regina offered. “I’m Regina.”

Samuel’s son held out his hand. “My name is Daniel.”

 

*****

Regina had always said that Rocinante had been the best Christmas gift she had ever received, although not in Cora’s hearing. Later on, she was to say that the reason for this was because Rocinante had brought Daniel into her life.

This year, Regina knew that the best Christmas gift she could have was some time with Henry. And she hoped that this year, she’d be able to give him his best Christmas present too. Christmas shopping for Henry had never been a problem before. Regina had always just splashed out on the most expensive items in the store. He’d always seemed happy with what he was given, or so Regina had thought until the day his friend Paige asked him why he wasn’t happy when he had everything. 

She needed to find the perfect present for Henry this year. She just didn’t know what yet, but hopefully she would know it when she saw it.

Regina knew that she could just magic something up as a present for Henry. But if it meant she stood a better chance of it being accepted, she knew she had to avoid that and go out and buy something herself.

Michael Tillman, the Zimmer twins’ father, stood in line at the toy store, with a basket laden with items.

“Wow, Michael, looks like you’re buying half the store,” someone said to him.

“I bought half the food store as well, for the twins. They’re having a party tonight with some of their friends. Grace is coming, and Henry Mills. It’s my first Christmas with the twins in a long while, you know,” Michael explained. “I feel I need to make it up to them for all the Christmases we spent apart, back in the Forest and then before, when I didn’t even remember them.” He followed the frozen gaze of his friend and turned around to see Regina watching him. “And we all know who to thank for that.”

Other people, overhearing, started turning around to look at Regina. For a moment she was back in her nightmare again, the one where Emma had brought half of Storybrooke to her door and they had tied her to her own apple tree. Accusing faces stared at her from every direction. Regina stumbled blindly backwards away from Michael, from the mob surrounding him, colliding with a display of toys and knocking them to the floor, landing flat on her ass among them.

“Regina?”

Regina glanced up in the direction of the lone voice among the jeering crowd, to see that it was Emma, holding out her hand to help her up.

“Leave me alone,” Regina snapped, pushing her out of the way and walking out of the store without a backward glance.

 

**Twenty Years Before the Casting of the Curse:**

Daniel had been upset that he had not been able to buy an expensive present for Regina, but she hadn’t minded. Getting to have the time with him and with Rocinante at Firefly Hill away from her mother had been present enough for Regina.

Daniel had vowed that the next year he would get her a proper present. Maybe by then Cora would have accepted them as a couple. Regina had replied that maybe by then they would have made themselves a new life away from her. But it didn’t matter whether he got her a present or not. Just being with Daniel had been what mattered at the time.

When Regina first married King Leopold, and watched as Snow White was opening extravagant presents all day, while she had just received one fur cloak, she had imagined that she heard Cora’s voice in her head, asking what the hell that was. Regina was the Queen, and after all Cora had done to get her there, surely Regina should be wanting more than that, deserved more than that? The first year, she had shut that out of her head. But over time, as Regina struggled to keep from vomiting at all the “Snow this, Snow that” fairest in the land crap, she had come to realise that Cora had been right. She was worth more than this, and she was not going to stand for it any more. It wasn’t so much that she had so little as the blatant preference for Snow that everyone in the land appeared to display. Snow had everything she could ever want, while she had taken away everything Regina had ever wanted. Snow had to go.

*****  
“Mulled wine?” Granny asked when Regina walked into the diner. Regina took the glass from her without a word, took a long swig then sat down in one of the booths, ignoring glares from Leroy who she suspected had had a few too many glasses already.

Ruby and Belle were sat in the booth behind Regina, Ruby asking Belle what she thought Mr Gold was likely to get her for Christmas.

“I don’t know that I want him to spend a lot on me,” Belle was saying. “The guy did just give me the keys to my own library, after all.”

“But you do know he will anyway, right?” Ruby giggled.

“Never mind me, what do you think Archie will get for you?” Belle asked.

“Archie and I are just friends, Belle,” Ruby shook her head. “I’m not expecting him to get me anything at all.”

Belle rolled her eyes. “You can say that, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Don’t be surprised to get something. You’re spending Christmas together, aren’t you?”

“You know that’s a group thing, Belle.” Ruby blushed. “Mary Margaret and David invited lots of us. Me, Archie, Granny, Leroy, Marco. That isn’t a date.”

Regina gripped the stem of her wine glass so hard that she wouldn’t have been surprised if it had shattered. So, they were opening their home to half of Storybrooke but Henry’s own mother wasn’t even allowed to see him on Christmas Day. She finished off the last of her mulled wine, banged the glass down on the counter and started to walk away.

“That’s right, your Majesty,” Leroy had spotted her, got to his feet and made an exaggerated bow to her. “Run away, because no one wants you here. We’re all celebrating the first Christmas with our loved ones in a long time, because we missed out on all those years because of you.” He swung his arm in her direction, and knocked his empty glass over, causing it to shatter on the floor.

“Leroy, please can you be more careful?” Granny asked as she rushed over to sweep it up. But Regina barely noticed this as she swept out of the cafe.

“Regina?” Archie approached her, tried to take her by the arm. “Is everything okay?”

“You know how I’ve tried to change,” Regina snapped. “But what the hell’s the point of it when all anyone’s ever going to see is the old Regina? All those people making merry in there, they have no idea that I could just blow this whole place up right now.” She raised her hand and Archie must have thought she was actually going to do it, because he reached out for her and yelled “Regina, no!”

“Don’t worry, Cricket,” Regina sneered. “I’m not gonna do it. But the fact that Henry would never forgive me is the only thing stopping me right now.”

“I’ll walk you home, Regina,” Archie offered. “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“I’m always going to be alone,” Regina snapped.

 

She had watched as everyone around her lived the same Christmas Day for 28 years. Archie usually invited Marco to his house for Christmas dinner, Granny opened the diner to those who had no one else to spend Christmas with, Mary Margaret spent her Christmas Day visiting the hospital patients whose bedsides she had usually decorated with some tacky tinsel, and Leroy woke up every Christmas morning in the cells after having been found drunk and disorderly in the town square.

The first year, she had enjoyed it. The second year, less so. By the eighth time, Regina was so fed up of living the same Christmas over and over again that she had opened her home to half of Storybrooke just to get away from the sheer monotony of it. In the years before Henry had come to live with her, Regina had gone through the same Christmas ritual herself year after year, exchanging the same presents with Sheriff Graham, watching the same lame movie (The Sound of Music). The year she first adopted Henry had been a big event in the town. Well, of course it would be, after all it was a change from the Groundhog Day existence they’d been living for so many years. So many of the town’s residents had sent her a present for his first Christmas. Even Mary Margaret had sent a teddy, although Regina had got rid of that one pretty quickly.

Every other year, Regina had felt smug at the thought that no one was getting their happy Christmas apart from her. This year, the tables had been turned.

 

Regina nearly didn’t bother answering the knock at the door. Probably just carol singers again. She’d already had three different groups turn up that day. But when the knocking persisted, she finally reluctantly got up to answer it.

“Merry Christmas, Mom!” Henry exclaimed as she opened the door. Emma stood beside him.

“I’m sorry about before,” Emma began. “Henry and I talked after you’d gone yesterday, and he told me that he did want to spend some time with you this Christmas. We’d like you to join us for Christmas dinner.”

“What about Mary Margaret and David?” Regina asked.

“We’ve talked to them,” Emma explained. “They agreed.” Regina suspected that this was done reluctantly, but she wasn’t going to push that one. “Besides, I did think afterwards that we’d been unfair. I know that you really are trying to change, and I think we should allow you that chance, the same way other people did for me. Besides, we’re both Henry’s moms, and it’s not fair on him always to have to see us at each other’s throats. We need to try and make this work for his sake at least.”

“You have to come, Mom.” Henry grinned. “We’re having turkey, since we didn’t do Thanksgiving this year.”

“Thank you, both of you,” Regina smiled. “I would like to come.”

 

Everyone immediately fell silent when Emma and Henry walked back in with Regina. But Archie immediately pulled out the chair next to him for her as Henry took the seat on the other side of her, and Ruby offered her a glass of wine. Some people, particularly Mary Margaret and David, had looked at her with suspicion at first, but in time they gradually started including her in the conversations.

Regina looked around awkwardly as people started exchanging Christmas presents (she noted that Archie had indeed bought something for Ruby) as she hadn’t brought anything herself, neither had anyone except for Henry bought anything for her. But Henry told her that none of that mattered. He had his two mothers getting along, making the effort for him, and that was what counted.


End file.
